September 7, 2010

We know dogs explore and chew. They learn about the world using their nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. But what about when they use their mouth too much and end up eating something that is bad for them like a yo-yo or a flip flop? Some of the oddest things that dogs eat make you wonder what they were thinking like the dog that swallowed a tent peg, another dog who ate two baby bottles and a used diaper, and a case of a dog who ate a beehive.

Luckily, we do have the option of buying pet insurance which can come in handy when unexpected pet accidents occur. Veterinary Pet Inusrance Co. (VPI) is one of the more known insurance companies for pets and receives over a million claims a year from pet owners, mostly for routine exams and conditions.

However, when they started getting claims for unusual accidents they started an award known as the Hambone Award. It is named after a dog who walked into the refrigerator and was stuck in there for a while. While the dog was in there waiting for someone to open the door, a thanksgiving ham was on the shelf. The dog figured he should eat it because, well, why not? When the pup was found he was well-fed, had a touch of hypothermia, and made a full recovery. The ham, on the other hand, was no more and all that was left was a licked clean bone.

This year’s Hambone Award went to Ellie, a lab who ate a beehive. Exterminators had sprayed the hive and Ellie ate it after the bees were dead. Her owners knew what she had done when they saw her vomit and hundreds of bees came out. She recovered and is fine now. Ellie spent a week on antacids and a diet of chicken and rice. She beat out 11 other nominees for the award and has made a full recovery.

You can vote and submit your own story, if you have one, for the 2011 Hambone Award by visiting the VPI Hambone Website.

Useful Sites

My Petswelcome Passport

Now you can save your route and access it anytime on your trip and/or for future travel. If you already have a Petswelcome Passport account, just log-in to save this route.

Log-in to your account

Create an Account

Petswelcome Passport

Get yours today!

Once you put in your Search by Route departure point and destination and click on Get Directions, you will be asked if you'd like to save your route. If you would like to save it, you'll be asked to create you own account by putting in your email address and creating a password so you can access your directions anytime on your trip or in the future.

Petswelcome Passport

Get yours today!

To save your route just fill in the information below and you'll be able to keep it as long as you'd like and access it anytime on-line. No more printing and forgetting to take the directions with you. And by saving trees and ink, you'll feel good about yourself, save money, contribute to a cleaner environment and, most importantly, be able to spend more time on having a great trip with your WHOLE family. How sweet is that?

Just fill in the information below to create an Petswelcome Passport account: